Worldwide Music News from The Steel City

Jessica Lea Mayfield in Pittsburgh on October 14 @ClubCafe

Acclaimed singer songwriter will be in town performing at Club Café on October 14 in support of her new album Sorry Is Gone, out September 29 on ATO Records.

The album was written and recorded following the break up of Jessica’s marriage. She comments, “The whole record is about me taking my life back, without really realizing it. I realized I’m the only person that is going to look out for me. I have to be my main person. No one else. I have to sing about things and write about things that have happened to me as therapy. That’s what connects me to other music I listen to. I want music to make me feel things. This is my inner dialogue, and my chance to get the last word.”

Sorry Is Gone is now streaming in full at NPR Music who says, “she doesn’t hide or hold back—a raw, fierce attitude runs through the confessional stanzas.” Listen to the album here.

Jessica Lea Mayfield’s anticipated new album, Sorry Is Gone, is now streaming in full exclusively at NPR Music’s First Listen series. Listen HERE. Of the album, NPR Music’s Tom Moon declares, “She doesn’t hide or hold back—a raw, fierce attitude runs through the confessional stanzas. And there are expressions of anger, too. But Mayfield never lets bitterness become the whole story—she tempers the astringent lyrics of ‘Offa My Hands’ and ‘Wish You Could See Me Now’ with a breezy, beguiling melodic sweetness. There’s a sense of catharsis, but it’s catharsis on pop terms: Sorry Is Gone is the sound of someone who knows exactly how much her baggage weighs, and exactly how much energy it takes to get it out of her way and into the rearview mirror.”

Out next Friday, September 29 on ATO Records,Sorry Is Gone is now available pre-order, which includes instant downloads of three album tracks: “Sorry Is Gone,” “Meadow” and “Offa My Hands.”

Already receiving widespread acclaim, Stereogum recently debuted the official music video for “Meadow” calling it, “…appealing in its blend of melancholy resignation and defiant self-will” (watch HERE.), while NPR Music premiered the video for the title track declaring, “Jessica Lea Mayfield is taking back her life. ‘Sorry Is Gone,’ the title track to her next album, is a song of empowerment that finds the singer moving past a difficult period in her life…Despite the weight of that, the song feels breezy, flowing and freeing” (watch HERE). Moreover, of the album, LENNY asserts, “Sorry Is Gone is clamorous and dynamic, reflective of Mayfield’s rare gift of seeming equally steady and chameleonic from album to album” and goes on to praise, “Mayfield seems primed to enjoy not only another strong album but to harness its moment in the service of others.”

The 11-track record was recorded at Water Music and Electric Lady studios with producer John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Phosphorescent). In addition to Mayfield, the album features a variety of world-renowned musicians including Seth Avett on backing vocals and keys, drummer Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth, Sun Kil Moon), bassist Emil Amos (Grails, Holy Sons) and guitarist Cameron Deyell (Sia, Streets of Laredo.) with additional production from Patrick Damphier (The Mynabirds).

Of the record, Mayfield comments, “The whole record is about me taking my life back, without really realizing it. I realized I’m the only person that is going to look out for me. I have to be my main person. No one else.” She continues, “I have to sing about things and write about things that have happened to me as therapy. That’s what connects me to other music I listen to. I want music to make me feel things. This is my inner dialogue, and my chance to get the last word.”

In support of the release, Mayfield will embark on an extensive tour this fall including shows at NYC’s Baby’s All Right, DC’s Songbyrd, Nashville’s The Basement East and Chicago’s The Empty Bottle among many others. All tickets are now on-sale via https://site.jessicaleamayfield.com/tour. See below for complete details.

Sorry Is Gone is Mayfield’s first solo album since 2014’s Make My Head Sing…, which was released to widespread acclaim. Of the album, Rolling Stone asserted, “…Mayfield’s echo-laden bluegrass vocals mesh with scorching electric guitar lines to render remarkable results,” while Pitchfork praised, “There’s something certainly compelling about this raw, minimalist sound” and NPR’s Fresh Air proclaimed, “The music is heavy, but it soars.” Additionally Interview Magazine declared, “Mayfield sounds like she’s finally arrived” and USA Today affirmed, “Her evolution as an artist has been fascinating to hear.” Most recently, in 2015, Mayfield collaborated with Seth Avett on Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith.